Category: Republic of the Congo

In the 15th century, the lands of Congo, in Central Africa, were inhabited by Bantu kingdoms, when the Portuguese arrived in the region (1483) and started to trade with their residents. The Portuguese also brought Christianity. At the end of the 19th century, France conquered much of the land on the north side of the Congo River, which became the French Congo in 1897. In 1912, France united its colonies from that area in French Equatorial Africa, with capital in Brazzaville, founded in 1880 by the French explorer Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza. Independence was achieved in 1960. On the southeast side of the Congo River there is another country: the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire. The Republic of Congo (Republique du Congo), also called Congo-Brazzaville, is crossed by the equator and has 4.5 million residents (2016). The capital is Brazzaville.